Reborn

A strong wind blew through my mane, as I felt raindrops collide against my skin. The sky visible from the roof of the weather factory was only an overcast of black and grey clouds, along with lightning strikes. A thought of pure horror plagued my mind, as I realized what would follow the storm. A rainbow composed of innocent pegasi that had died through the Pegasus Device would form in place of the storm. The thought made my stomach turn, as I admired my surroundings.

The roof was long, wide, and open, with one lone entrance on the far right side of the roof. Surprisingly, the roof wasn't barricaded by any barb wire or an electric fence. It was completely open. Any factory worker could jump from this horrible place if they wanted. They could escape a horrible life of murder and torture, but most of the pegasi were either too afraid or driven to madness by Rainbow Dash's tactics. They'd be stuck here for the rest of their lives, killing innocent pegasi, driven to where murder was only second nature to them.

The rain continued to pound against my skin, so I decided to find some cover. I scouted the area for any sort of cover, but of course, there wasn't a single spot where I could escape the rain. There was only one way I could get out of the rain, and as much as I didn't want to, I knew I had to do it. I had to return to the inside of the factory. The place I had died in, along with Orion and Aurora. The screams of them in their final moments still plagued my mind, especially Orion's pleas, as his ribs were snapped, and he was thrown into the Pegasus Device like a piece of trash.

Those thoughts had caused tears to form in my eyes, as I became surprised. I had not felt sadness for years, nor had I not cried ever since Orion's death. The warm tears rolled down my cheeks, as I wiped them away. Was I truly alive again? I decided to check by placing my right hoof against the left side of my chest, only to feel a beating within my chest. My heart was beating again, pumping blood throughout my body. I truly was alive again, and this time, I would not fail to avenge my fallen friends. This time, Rainbow Dash would be outsmarted. She wasn't going to win again.

However, before I could do anything in my quest for vengeance, I had to find a way to blend in. My best option was to disguise myself in a full-body suit, otherwise Rainbow Dash would have her entire security squad on me. I couldn't be seen. She couldn't know I was here. The factory was packed with surveillance cameras, along with a strange darkness that you couldn't see. It was much like the same darkness in the void, but much more powerful. I would have to be absolutely careful, and remain hidden like a ghost. Once I would be able to blend in, I could get to work on sabotaging the empire Rainbow Dash had created.

I carefully examined the area for any security cameras, and fortunately didn't see any, as I carefully stepped toward the only entrance on the far right side of the roof. My mane and coat were soaked by the time I reached the far right side of the roof, where a green light glew through my blurred vision, due to the rain. The green light glew from just above the entrance, illuminating from a neon sign that read "EXIT."

I took a close look at the door, only to quickly realize that it was one of those doors that required a certain code to open. I wanted to cuss in frustration, until I suddenly heard a beeping noise erupt from the other side of the door. I wasted no time, and quickly rushed to hide from whoever was on the other side of the entrance. The door opened, revealing a female pegasus dressed in a pitch-black suit, with only her tail, wings, and face visible. It was just like the one Rainbow Dash was wearing the day I was admitted into the factory.

Could this have been one of the "Orchestrators" that Crystal mentioned? The pegasus walked right out to the edge of the roof, mumbling to herself. She was gripping something in her hoof, as she stuck it in her mouth.

"Ugh. I hate taking these things, but it's the only way to escape the horrible shit I'm forced to do," she spoke to herself.

I wondered what to do, seeing she wasn't even aware of my presence. I peeked my head around the corner, noticing the door still open. The pegasus was clearly too busy mumbling to herself, so I took the opportunity, immediately trotting from my hiding spot, through the open door, and into the factory.

Inside the factory, a heaviness came over me, as I looked around, fortunately not seeing any other factory workers. I wondered what sort of medication the factory worker had taken. Apparently, it was strong enough to make somepony forget things, due to her stating so. At the same time, I could care less about what sort of medication the factory worker had taken. I had to focus on my task, which was getting to the bottom floor without being seen. I'd have to stick to the shadows, seeing there were cameras everywhere, and the only way I could stay hidden, was to stick to the darkness.

My current position was a short narrow hall, that led to a longer hall just across from the hall I was in, along with a long skywalk to the left. The entire factory was visible through the glass along the sides of the skywalk, including the Pegasus Device. The machine I had died in was silent, but it had recently been used, due to the visible blood on the grinding blades of the death machine. Another sign that it had recently been used was the fact that the spectre storage tubes were full to the top.

I was lucky. No factory workers were visible on the factory floor. That's when it hit me; I had no idea what time it was. For all I knew, the factory workers could have departed to wherever they rested, for the day. I still wasn't going to take any chances, because I couldn't imagine the cameras being shut off at any time, due to all the rebellious pegasi that had turned against Rainbow Dash. I still had to stick to my plan, not to mention that I had to keep moving, because I knew one factory worker was still awake.

The most obvious way to go was across the skywalk, and hopefully find an elevator. The darkest spots in the skywalk was the sides of the long walkway, so I'd just have to trot as fast as my hooves could manage. I took a deep breath, sticking to the left side of the skywalk, and with all my energy, trotted across the skywalk. The hall seemed to drag on for miles, when it really was only my mind playing tricks on me. I was afraid. I hated this place, but it was the only place where I could find the mare I hated the most. I couldn't afford to make any mistakes, because I had just this chance to take out the factory and Rainbow Dash.

After what seemed like forever, I finally reached the end of the skywalk, where I met another code-embedded door and another long hallway, where at the end of it, I could see an elevator. This almost seemed too easy. I had not seen any other factory worker, except the one female pegasus I had encountered, and I had no idea where the hell I was going. For all I knew, I could be walking right into a trap, seeing the bold pegasus that had given me this opportunity had met his end through a set-up trap. Rainbow Dash knew of his plans long before he planned to do so.

I couldn't underestimate Rainbow Dash. Her act as the tomboyish pegasus that represented loyalty made her seem like she didn't even have the qualifications of her TRUE self. Nopony would have ever guessed her to be clever and cunning. Just goes to show you that you never TRULY know somepony, until you've seen their true colors. Rainbow Dash was a murderous pegasus, and the overmare of a factory of nightmares. The fact that I had admired Rainbow Dash all my life made me want to vomit. I shook my head, as I wondered what to do next.

My best bet was the elevator, so I wasted no time, stuck to the darkest areas, and trotted down the long hall. Once I reached the end of the hall, I examined the elevator, quickly noticing that it had a hoof scanner, along with an eye scanner.

"Shit!" I exclaimed. "Now what?!"

Suddenly, I heard hoof steps from down the hall, immediately causing my heart to drop. I had to hide, fast. As the steps got closer, I decided to hide in a dark corner, and hope that I wouldn't be spotted by the factory worker. I placed my hoof over my mouth, silencing my breathing, as the female worker came into view, approaching the elevator. An idea came to me through my fear, noticing that once again, the worker didn't notice my presence. With all my bravery, I jumped from my hiding spot, grabbed the pegasus, and put my hoof over her mouth, thrusting her violently in my grip.

"Listen up, and listen good!" I commanded her. "If you don't shut up, I'm going to snap your neck!"

She continued to struggle in my grip, so to give the worker a sign that I wasn't kidding, I violently smacked her face into the door of the elevator, causing her to cooperate, as I pulled her back into my grip.

"Refuse again, and I'll do worse!" I threatened. "Now, here's how it's going to go. You are going to get me into that elevator, take me to the bottom floor, and lastly, take me to where they store the full-body suits."

The worker didn't struggle anymore, and nodded her head instead. I quickly, forced her in front of the eye and hoof scanners, as she cooperated, placing her hoof on the hoof scanner, and her eyes against the eye scanner. A series of beeping noises, along with a female tone voice erupted from the two scanners.

"Access granted," spoke the scanner, following the elevator doors opening.

The inside of the elevator was dimly-lit, making my situation much easier, seeing I had to stick to the darkness if I planned to make any sort of progress in this demented factory. I continued to hold the pegasus tight in my grip, as I navigated backwards, into the compact elevator.

"Take us to the bottom floor," I commanded, thrusting the factory worker toward the keypad.

She didn't fight me, and just did as I had commanded. After pressing a few buttons, the elevator door closed, proceeding to the factory floor. Along the way down, the factory worker turned her head to me, freeing her muzzle from my grip.

"Kill me," she said to me.

Her words surprised me. I had no idea how to even respond to something like that. What was I supposed to say? Yes? Was she trying to trick me, or was she being serious? Judging from what she said on the roof, I believed that she was being serious. She had grown tired of this life of murder, and wanted out of the Rainbow Factory, forever. She was my only guidance though, so I decided to make a proposition with her.

"Ok, I'll free you from this place, but first, you have to do something for me," I stated.

"What's your proposition?" she asked me.

"You know your way around the factory, so here's the deal. Get me a map, and keep me out of Rainbow Dash's sight," I proposed. "If you can get me to Rainbow Dash, I'll free you from this hellbent factory."

The worker raised an eyebrow at me, following an unsettling look on her face.

"Best way to get to Dash, is to gain her trust," stated the pegasus. "It's not easy to gain her trust though. You'll have to do some wicked shit to get on Dash's good side. Only few pegasi have been able to do it, and what they've done to gain her trust is best left unsaid."

Without a doubt, I knew that the worker wasn't kidding the slightest. Rainbow Dash was ruthless, and I could only imagine the unspeakable things required to gain her trust, but I planned to gain Rainbow Dash's trust using stealth and manipulation. I had been closer to Rainbow Dash than anypony had ever been. I knew things about her that others didn't. Things that could ruin her, and scare her.

"Trust me. I can gain her trust, but I need time to do it," I stated.

"I don't know what you are planning, but I can buy you time," she replied. "Can you loosen your grip though? It kinda hurts."

Despite what she had stated, I wasn't going to loosen my grip so easily. I knew just how manipulative these workers were, and they would play the "I'm just an innocent victim, so trust me" game.

"I'll release you, but first, dispose of any lethal weapon you have on you," I claimed. "I know you have a taser, gun, and pepper spray as defence against any victims who try to escape. Dispose of them, and I'll release you."

She didn't rebel, and disposed of all the lethal weapons she carried on her belt, dropping them to the floor of the elevator. She had disposed of a taser, handgun, pepper spray, knife, and night stick, as the elevator came to a stop on the bottom floor. I carefully released her from my grip, as the elevator doors opened. Just outside the doors, I saw the base of the Pegasus Device. It was supported by four steel bars, holding it in place.

The sight of the machine caused the memories of my final moments in the factory to flash before my eyes, as I stared at the steel wall next to the machine with rusty chains hanging from the rafters. The chains that my hooves had been restrained in, as I was lifted, and dropped into the grinding blades of the death machine. Those memories caused my entire body to quiver, as I saw the metal platform to the side of the death machine. The place where Rainbow Dash had stood, mocking me, Orion, and Aurora.

The machine was quiet now, but it wouldn't be long before it would erupt back to life, hungry for more innocent pegasi who had failed the flying exam. I did notice something different about the area though. A giant projector screen was positioned just above the control room for the Pegasus Device. Suddenly, Crystal's words echoed in my mind.

"The one thing that makes me a pegasus was taken from me and tossed aside like garbage, and broadcasted for everypony to see! I was humiliated!"

That must've been what she meant by that her forced wing-removal was "broadcasted." What a horrid thing for any pegasi to see! The thought of being forced to witness a pegasus being removed of their only identification of being a pegasus made my stomach turn, nearly causing me to vomit. I remained strong, as we continued to navigate along the factory floor, toward another room.

"What's in there?" I asked.

"It's the locker room for the female factory workers. I can get you a full-body suit from an old worker's locker," she said.

"Don't they still work here?" I asked.

She turned to me, giving me a look that answered my question.

"Many workers die in factory accidents, especially the workers who have to clean the Pegasus Device blades," she confirmed. "Once you get stuck in that machine, it's impossible to escape."

"Or, Rainbow Dash does it on purpose, just for extra spectre," I claimed, knowing that I was correct.

"Yeah. That too," she agreed, placing her hoof on the hoof scanner.

Once her access was granted, we entered a long narrow room with rows of lockers on both sides of the room. The worker switched on the lights, closing the door behind her.

"Rainbow Dash doubled the security of the factory ever since an escape attempt by one of the Orchestrators," she stated. "That's why there's a scanner on every door, so nopony can just simply escape."

I immediately knew that the worker was talking about the pegasus that I had met in the void. He was an Orchestrator, but was outsmarted by Rainbow Dash.

"Did you know this Orchestrator?" I asked her.

"Sorta. He was one of the more quiet Orchestrators, but we did work in the same department," she replied. "Such a shame that he had to die here. I really wished the guy could've escaped, but Dash knew about his plans before he even had a chance. I took his place as Dash's second in-command, and ever since it's been the same ol' story. Pegasi come to the factory, we give them the same speech, kill the weakest one, and so on."

"I've wanted out of this place ever since my first kill, but I've been too scared to do anything. Dash watches all the workers like a hawk, and if anything seems out of place, she acts immediately. I once thought about starting a rebellion with the other Orchestrators, but I quickly figured out, that's like asking for death on a silver platter. This place changes you, and not in a good way. Some workers have committed suicide to escape, before they were driven to madness."

"The eldest worker came here with a heart of gold, and at first, refused to kill anypony, but after one kill, along with the effects of the factory, they became a ruthless killer, driven by madness."

"And, who was that?" I asked.

"Dash," she confirmed.

One kill is all it took to persuade Rainbow Dash to take her role here in the factory?! My blood ran cold. How long had Rainbow Dash truly been here? How many other Overmares had there been in the factory? Was Rainbow Dash the only one? My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a locker door opening, as the worker pulled out a full-body suit. It was coated with dry blood, along with some splats of spectre from the tubes around the chest area.

"Here. Put this on," she commanded, tossing the suit at me.

I grabbed the suit, and quickly slipped on the suit. It was clear what this suit was used for. It was for handling any toxic chemicals, and working around any toxic gases. My guess was this factory worker handled spectre, and organized it.

"Make sure to blend in with the rest of the workers," said the pegasus. "If you get caught, I can't help you. Another thing, if any other workers ask for assistance, it's best you just do as they say, despite what you are forced to do."

"Very well, but remember our agreement," I stated. "Find a map, and get it to me. I'll work on getting on Rainbow Dash's good side, but not the way other pegasi had to."

"I'll get one," she stated.

I nodded my head, as another thought came to me.

"By the way, what time is it?" I asked.

"If you're wondering if the factory is shut down, fortunately for you, it is," she confirmed. "The shifts just barely ended, but that doesn't mean we're safe. We need to get out of sight, so I guess I'll take you to my custom room that Dash gave me, once she gained my trust."

"Hard to believe that she'd do something so "kind," I stated.

"By the way, I never caught your name," she asked me.

I panicked. I tried to think of a fake name, seeing if I gave her my real name, she'd recognize it immediately. Through my struggling, I remembered what Crystal had said about the unnamed pegasus I had spoke to. He had forgotten his name.

"I forgot mine, long ago," I stated, hoping the worker would buy my bluff.

She raised an eyebrow, showing that she didn't believe me.

"Don't give me that bullshit," she claimed in an annoyed tone. "You assaulted me out of nowhere, so you somehow got into the factory. Tell the truth, and don't lie."

I knew I couldn't lie again, so I came up with a fake name, close to my real one.

"Fine, it's Scoots," I replied.

The pegasus gave me a strange look, placing her hoof to her chin.

"Strange. Dash used to mention somepony she used to call "Scoots" for short," she claimed.

I cussed in my mind, knowing I wasn't getting anywhere with her. Here I was in the place I had died in originally, about to die again, unless I found some way to persuade this worker otherwise. Luckily, I managed to do so.

"That's better," stated the worker. "I forgot my name long ago, so I just refer to myself as, Absentia."

I recognized the word "absentia" immediately. It matched anypony who had lost their identity perfectly. The word "absentia" is a reference to being forgotten. Left behind. Absent from where somepony originated. Everypony's name in this factory had gone absent long ago through the countless years of killing innocent pegasi. A sad thought that I couldn't fathom.

"Let's get out of here, before we get caught by security," stated Absentia.

"I agree. Let's go," I replied.

As we turned to leave, I had no idea what to think. Had I just entered a trap with Absentia? Had I just made a mistake by making a deal with a factory worker? All I knew, was that I wasn't safe in any way. If anything, I needed to watch my back. I was in the Rainbow Factory, where fears and horrors come true, and not a single soul gets through. I was in hell. Nowhere was safe.